Sydney school surprise?

Most people outside Australia would be surprised to learn that around 25% of Australia’s children are educated in private Christian schools.

Some of these are big posh Anglican schools for the elites, but the vast majority are for the middle class and poor. The Anglican diocese in New South Wales oversees 30 schools.

These schools are one of the last bastions in Australian civic society to stand out against the ‘woke’ progressive establishment. Therefore it should not come as a surprise that they are under constant attack from that establishment. The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation regularly carry negative stories about the Sydney Anglican schools in particular. When the Herald recently printed an article entitled ‘Schools force Anglican backdown on statement opposing same-sex marriage’, it looked as though the pressure was beginning to tell.

In 2019, a clause opposing gay marriage was inserted into the statement of faith which school heads are supposed to sign. A couple of principals together with some parents on school boards, especially in the more elite schools, campaigned to have this removed – and now the Synod has agreed. Some parents at one school, Illawarra Grammar, stated that the clause ‘did not align with the values of mainstream Australia’ – which is kind of the point of a Christian school!

Although the diocese is due to be removing this clause, it is still the case that school board members appointed by the diocese, and new principals, must be of ‘Christian faith and character’ and ‘attend regularly and be actively involved in a Bible-based Christian church’. The new policy also states that schools should be run following the ‘doctrines, tenets and beliefs of the diocese’.

So where does this leave everything? It all depends on whether the diocese intends to uphold Biblical teaching in its schools. If the removal of the same-sex marriage clause is to allow those who oppose Biblical teaching to be school principals, then it would be a climbdown. But if this is just to remove a special mention of one doctrine, because of the adverse publicity, whilst retaining the Biblical doctrine and discipline to go with it, then it could be a great example of being as ‘wise as serpents and harmless as doves’.

Although this may appear to be a relatively small issue in the grand scheme of things, in reality it is a key issue for the Church. They must remain faithful on this issue – or the ‘inevitable’ tide of progressive doctrines will threaten to swamp one of the last bastions of freedom in Australia.